Online - September 07, 2005

Wee Shall Overcome

Tumbleweed Houses

Small is so the new big.

Just look at all the folks trading in their Hummers for sporty hybrids. Or replacing their double-D implants with B cups.

The next rung on the less-is-more ladder: Tumbleweed houses, tiny custom shelters perfectly suited to modest living. The line starts at the minuscule 6-by-7-feet Vardo, a cute-as-a-button trailer that can fit a bed or become a small office. At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the 20-by-16 B-52 Bungalow, a two-story structure with a living room, bedroom, office, and lots of storage space (“lots” being a relative term, of course).

Jay Shafer, the master builder behind the California-based company, delivers anywhere in the country for $2 per mile, and all but the largest houses arrive at your site totally complete. Need more space? Two or more houses can be strung together with the dogtrot connector. Or consider a Tumbleweed house for a guest bungalow or the world’s largest freestanding walk-in closet.

It may not be in keeping with the current culture of downsizing.

But it’s definitely a new take on living large.

Available online at tumbleweedhouses.com.